Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, successfully launched a six-person crew from West Texas to the edge of space on Sunday, marking its return to space tourism after the New Shepard rocket was grounded in 2022. This crew included the first Black astronaut candidate from the 1960s, Ed Dwight, who at 90 years old became the oldest person in space.
Dwight expressed his excitement upon landing, saying, “I am ecstatic.” The crew, seated in a gumdrop-shaped capsule, were launched from Blue Origin’s facilities near Van Horn, Texas. The rocket separated from the capsule, which ascended to 65.7 miles (105.7 km) above Earth’s atmosphere, while the booster returned to land as planned. The capsule then returned to Earth under parachutes, completing the mission in roughly 10 minutes. Despite one parachute not fully inflating, the landing was safe.
Ed Dwight, who was picked by President John Kennedy in 1961 to train as an astronaut but never flew to space until now, celebrated his journey by thrusting his fists in the air upon landing. “I thought I really didn’t need this in my life, but now I need it in my life,” Dwight told a Blue Origin interviewer.
The flight marked Blue Origin’s seventh crewed mission and included a venture capitalist and a pilot among the paying customers. Dwight’s seat was sponsored by a space-focused nonprofit and a private foundation. Blue Origin has not disclosed ticket prices for its space tourism flights.
The New Shepard rocket was previously grounded after a mid-flight failure during an uncrewed mission in September 2022. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required Blue Origin to make 21 corrective actions, including an engine redesign. The rocket returned to flight in December 2023 with an uncrewed mission carrying 33 research payloads.
The FAA has not yet commented on the parachute issue from the latest flight. A Blue Origin spokesperson assured that the crew capsule is designed to safely land with one parachute and called the mission a success.
Resuming routine missions with New Shepard has been a priority for Blue Origin’s new CEO, Dave Limp, who was appointed by Bezos to boost the company’s competitive position against Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Blue Origin is also focusing on the development of its larger New Glenn rocket, aimed at competing with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 for launching commercial and government satellites. Despite delays, Blue Origin expects New Glenn to debut by the end of this year.
In the space tourism sector, Blue Origin competes with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which plans to pause its spaceflight program until 2026 for fleet upgrades after its seventh commercial mission next month.
